Maryland casino revenues rise 10 percent in a year

Maryland's four casinos brought in $75.9 million in July, a jump of nearly 10 percent from the same month a year earlier, with the bulk of the increase coming from the state's largest casino, Maryland Live, the state lottery agency reported Tuesday.

Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Allegany County, which added 19 slot machines and seven table games since last July, had the largest percentage increase, nearly 20 percent, as its revenues rose $685,064 to nearly $4.2 million.

July revenue rose 4.6 percent to $6.1 million at the Casino at Oceans Downs in Worcester County, and remained flat at $7.5 million at Hollywood Casino in Cecil County.

A fifth gambling center, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, is scheduled to open on August 26 near downtown.

The sign is up on the new two-story building on Russell Street and the opening date is set for the evening of Aug. 26 at the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, which will be Maryland's fifth gambling center, general manager Chad Barnhill announced Thursday.

The father of a 20-year-old Carol Stream, Ill., woman who drowned at Indiana's Porter Beach on Friday night identified her body Sunday afternoon after a rescue team pulled her from Lake Michigan, authorities said.

A burst of thunderstorm activity across the Chicago area in Sunday afternoon resulted in multiple injuries and a death at an event in west suburban Wood Dale, the collapse of a dome in northwest suburban Rosemont and the temporary evacuation of the music festival Lollapalooza in Grant Park downtown.